Graduate Certificate in
Foundations of E-Learning

Certificate students will gain the foundations for online teaching and useful competencies for the management of e-learning.

To stay ahead in the educational frontier, educators need to expand into the innovative online learning arena. The Graduate Certificate in Foundations of E-Learning will provide you with the fundamentals of online teaching, as well as training in e-learning management.

Upon successful completion of all coursework, you will earn a Graduate Certificate in Foundations of E-Learning from the College of Education at the fully accredited University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. And if at some future date you decide to pursue your master’s degree, all your certificate courses can be used to satisfy course requirements for the Master of Education degree with a concentration in E-Learning.

Curriculum

The curriculum of the graduate-level Certificate in Foundations of E-Learning consists of three 4-credit hour courses for a total of 12 credit hours:

Foundations of Online Teaching and Learning
Learning Technologies
Design of Learning Systems

All certificate courses can be used to satisfy course requirements for the Master of Education degree with a concentration in E-Learning.

Delivery Method

The e-learning program delivers courses using online instruction that emphasizes group collaboration. Students may be required to attend one of the weekly online synchronous sessions during the eight-week course hosted by the instructor. This session may be used for orientation, oral presentations, software demonstrations, or instructor's office hours. The date and time of these required sessions will be posted for enrolled students at least two weeks before the start date of the course.

Admissions and Prerequisites

All e-learning applicants will be considered based on the following criteria:

Quality of undergraduate work: an earned bachelor's degree from an accredited institution with a minimum grade-point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale for the last 60 hours of undergraduate course work is required.
Quality of graduate work (if applicable), including grades.
Quality of recommendations contained in the three required letters of reference.
Relevance of work experience, career goals, and statement on why you are interested in the program.
Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), for applicants from non-English speaking countries. The minimum acceptable score is 550 for the paper version and 243 for the computer version.

Application Materials Required:

A complete application
All applicants will be required to submit official transcripts from all prior colleges and universities attended, including prior attendance at any campus of the University of Illinois.
Three (3) letters of reference
A current resume
A personal statement submitted separate from your application that describes your previous academic work in your proposed field of study and includes your goals for graduate study and your professional career. In your statement, list memberships in honor societies and professional organizations; scholarships, prizes, honors, or other recognition; and titles of publications, major papers, or theses of which you are author or co-author (if published, give citation). Please limit your statement to 1,000 words.

Tuition and Fees

Residency Status	Tuition and Fees
Illinois Residents and UI degree holders who are contributing members of the University of Illinois Alumni Association	$4,590 for the entire certificate program ($382.50 per credit hour for 12 credit hours) A one-time, non-refundable application fee of $40. Tuition and fees do not include books and course materials.
Non-Illinois Residents & International Students	$5,100 for the entire certificate program ($425 per credit hour for 12 credit hours) U.S. students residing outside Illinois will pay a one-time, non-refundable application fee of $50. International students will pay a one-time, non-refundable application fee of $75. Tuition and fees do not include books and course materials.

Course Starts and Estimated Completion Times

The Global Campus will offer the following start dates for the Graduate Certificate in Foundations of E-Learning:

May 7, 2008
September 3, 2008
January 7, 2009
May 6, 2009

We will explore additional start dates throughout the year based on demand.

Each course will be eight weeks in length. The typical course load is one or two courses per eight-week term. At the rate of one course per term, you can complete the certificate in six months if you take courses in back-to-back terms.